AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman. We’re on the road in Denver, Colorado, broadcasting from Denver Open Media. We turn now to a police shooting of a teenage girl here in Denver that’s drawn protests amidst a nationwide push for more police accountability. It was the morning of January 26 when Denver police shot and killed 17-year-old Jessica Hernandez. They say she and several teenage friends were driving a stolen car that struck and injured an officer. Police Chief Robert White says his officers repeatedly told her to get out of the car before they opened fire. But a passenger in the car, who spoke with KUSA in Denver, says Hernandez lost control of the car only after she was shot and became unconscious.

PASSENGER WITNESS: Cops walked up. They were on the side of her, and they shot the window, and they shot her. That’s when she wrecked, and that’s when the cop got hit.

AMY GOODMAN: Denver police do not use in-car dashboard cameras. We invited someone from the police department to join us on the show, but they declined, saying it would be inappropriate for them to comment while the case is under investigation. The shooting of Jessica Hernandez marks at least the fourth time in seven months Denver police have fired at a moving vehicle, despite a policy urging officers to try to move out of the way instead of shooting. Two of those shootings resulted in the drivers’ deaths.
In a statement, Hernandez’s parents said, quote, “We are dismayed that the [Denver Police Department] has already defended the actions of the officers and blamed our daughter for her own death, even while admitting they have very little information. … [T]his unjustified shooting of our daughter is only the latest sign of an issue that requires federal oversight,” they said. In an interview, Jessica Hernandez’s mother also raised concerns about how her daughter was treated by police … – Click Here To Visit Article Source